I. Field
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to providing policy control and charging for device to device (D2D) services.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as, e.g., voice content, data content, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems can be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems can include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems can concurrently support communication for multiple user terminals. Mobile devices respectively can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to a communication link from base stations to user terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to a communication link from user terminals to base stations. Further, communications between user terminals and base stations can be established via single-input single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and so forth.
In addition to the foregoing, D2D wireless communication networks enable communication devices to transmit, or receive information while on the move and without the need for traditional base stations. The D2D wireless communication network may be an ad hoc communication network, etc. These communication networks can be communicatively coupled to other public or private networks, for example via wired or wireless access points, in order to facilitate transfer of information to and from user terminals. Such D2D communication networks typically include a plurality of access terminals (e.g., mobile communication devices, mobile phones, wireless user terminals), communicating in a peer-to-peer fashion. For example, each device in a D2D communication may be called a peer device, a partner device, etc. The communication networks may also include beacon points that emit strong signals to facilitate D2D communication amongst access terminals; for example, emitted beacons can contain timing information to aid in timing synchronization of such terminals. These beacon points are positioned to provide wide area coverage as respective access terminals travel within and across different coverage areas.
Wireless communication employing the licensed spectrum, whether facilitated directly by a base station, or utilizing D2D communication between user terminals, involves electronic resources provided by owners/licensees/providers of the spectrum. Accordingly, policy control and charging is an important aspect of a service provider's business model.